Chapter 29 · The Blood He Stole

"We're not going to make it."

Sienna said it flat, like stating a fact in court. No emotion. Just the truth.

Kael didn't look at her. He kept his eyes on the road, both hands locked on the wheel. The engine growled as he took another turn too fast. "We will."

"He's got my blood, Kael." She pressed her palm against the window. Cold glass. Her fingers left smudges. "He's probably already at the council hall. We're twenty minutes out and he's—"

"Then we're twenty minutes out." His jaw tightened. "You want to roll over? Fine. Get out. Walk back. Let him win."

She turned to stare at him. "That's not what I said."

"Sounded like it."

"I'm being realistic."

"You're being scared."

Her hand curled into a fist. "Don't."

"Don't what? Tell you the truth?" He shot her a glance, quick and sharp. "You spent six years handing down sentences. You don't get to fold now because someone's got dirt on you."

"It's not dirt. It's proof." She hated how her voice cracked. Hated it. "Proof I'm not who I said I was. Proof I lied to get my seat. Proof I—"

"Proof you survived.